An excerpt from Black Enterprise -
YOUNG BLACK ASPIRING DOCTORS IN NYC GETTING GUIDANCE THROUGH MENTORSHIP PROGRAM #BLACKBUSINESSMONTH
by Jeroslyn Johnson
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| These 45 Black youths got an inside view of medicine through a new, week long medical internship. (Erskine Isaac ivisionphoto.com) |
Medical Internship Week kicked off in NYC last week and included a group of young Black aspiring doctors looking to break the lack of diversity in the medical field.
There was 45 Black youth included in the program for aspiring doctors, nurses, and surgeons, NY Daily News reports. The group of aspiring medical professionals with ages from eight to 18 enjoyed five days of shadowing surgeons and watching medical procedures to get firsthand experience ahead of pursuing careers in the field.
“I LIKE TO SEE BLACK DOCTORS,” SAID SIXTH-GRADER KAYNE MCKNIGHT. “WHEN I GO TO THE DENTIST AND THE DOCTORS, I DON’T REALLY SEE BLACK DOCTORS. IT’S MOSTLY WHITE DOCTORS.”
Dr. Anthony Watkins, a transplant surgeon at NYU Langone, is one of the creators of the program and expressed his hope to break the racial disparities he has seen get worse over the decades. Watkins noted how there were more Black men in medical school in the 1970s than there are in recent years. Through Medical Internship Week, Watkins aims to break the barriers.
“Knowing that ‘Oh, someone who looks like me can do it’ can instill that confidence,” Watkins said. “That’s really a critical component. The ultimate goal is … to spark that interest, and hopefully tackle this problem, and address diversity.”
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